The Halloween Oracle by Stacey Demarco – Lifting the Veil Between the Worlds
Blue Angel Publishing (information booklet and 36 cards, 5 x 7 inches)
Reviewed by Wendy Stokes
31st October is the evening before All Hallows’. It is known as Halloween. This year, we have a full moon, ideal to cast shadows after dark! You are invited to ‘Experience the Scariest Night of the Year Every Night’! The cards are not numbered and carry only a title and subtitle on the face—to be read upright only—no inverted readings! Based on the philosophy that our awareness of death helps us to live our life with consideration, caring and joy, and helps us to prepare for the eventual day when our number is called by the powers that be.
Several card spreads are suggested, one card (where you can use a pendulum to choose it), a three-card spread for Halloween (card one represents the heart of the issue or question, card two, the challenge, and card three provides the solution) or a six-card Jack O’ Lantern layout (card one represents the heart of the issue or question, card two, the hidden issue, card three, the major obstacle, card four, the main fear, card five, the solution, and card six, what will happen if you engage the solution).
This is a fun deck, ideal for Halloween parties. I would probably combine this with another deck if I could find a suitable one of the same size and genre. For those who like dressing up, we have the typical spooky symbols: owl, bat, broom, werewolf, skulls, vampires, graves, spiders, skeleton, cauldron, crystal ball, ghost, ghoul, zombie, pumpkin, black cat, etc.
This lady of death, from the Mexican tradition of the Day of the Dead, is Lady de los Muertos, and she reminds us to remember and honour all those who have gone on the great journey before us. The veil between the worlds is thinnest at this time. Lady honours and accepts that death will come to everyone, regardless of wealth or status. She has reverence for it, but also overcomes and celebrates it, laughing and refusing to allow it to crush the joys of life. Death is the last taboo; many run from it but it catches up with all of us sometime. The card is life affirming.
The deck has a booklet with a four line rhyme and a 500 word explanation of each card—ideal to celebrate The Day of the Dead, old Celtic Samhain or our All Hallow’s Eve style trick or treat.
The author Stacey Demarco and the illustrator, Jimmy Manton, hail from Australia. It’s good card stock. Cards rely on the intuitive ability and sense of fun.
Wendy Stokes, reviewer: https://wendystokes.co.uk
